


A Love Story (or an ode to fall)

by Tabsbee



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-27 00:59:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8381722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabsbee/pseuds/Tabsbee
Summary: Asami and Korra fall in love over the course of one Fall semester at Uni.





	1. The Beginning

* * *

Thursday, October 6th

Asami pouted as she stared out the window of her second floor bedroom. She could see the breeze rippling through the trees, knocking the orange and red leaves to the ground. She could see people shuffling their way through the streets, huddled in their jackets. She could see that she was going to have a difficult time choosing a multi-functional outfit for the day.

At 8:00 AM, the morning dew was still shining on the grass, the world was still chilled from the cool night before. Asami would pick out a light jacket and flawlessly fashion the rest of her outfit around it. And by noon that jacket would be far too much for the sticky warmth the sun had brought.

October was just beginning and the semester was in full swing, and Asami was absolutely ready for the cold weather. She would readily admit that somehow, the Fall season snuck up on her. It was only yesterday that she was walking to her morning lab class when she noticed the gorgeous color of the trees. They were the color of a sunset on clear night. And Asami looked to the ground, finally seeing all the fallen leaves carpeting the pavement. The reds and oranges and faint greens littered the path before her. Somehow, it was the first time she noticed it.

Asami will claim to love Fall because she loves to layer her outfits, but there’s something about all that orange blossoming in the world that makes her warm. She associates Fall with quiet, warmth, hot cider, and pumpkins. All the other seasons are harsh, or wet, she thinks of them as loud and brash where the Fall is a muted world where everyone slows down.

Asami enjoys the decorations, the candy, the costumes that come with the holidays. Asami really does love October. Though some days all she wants to do is curl up in a comfy chair by the window and read a long book, sipping warm tea while the trees sway outside.

She shook her head of her thoughts and glanced at the clock. With a sigh, Asami pulled together a neat outfit that paired well with or without a jacket and nodded in resolution. She hurried through the rest of her morning routine and was out the door soon.

The walk to her morning Engineering design class was always a calm one, being roughly 8:30 there were only other students ambling their way along the tree lined paths. Ba Sing Se University was the most gorgeous campus Asami had visited. The campus itself was reason alone to attend, but add in the engineering programs along with a retinue of other challenging programs and Asami knew it was right for her.

Of course her father wanted her to attend Republic City University. ‘You won’t even have to move out!’ he had said. But that’s the whole point of going away to University, she had thought. She no longer wanted to live in the City. Although her father’s mansion was not technically in the city, everything she needed was.

It was ironic, but Asami hated traffic. She was well aware that traffic meant Future Industries was inundating the streets with Satomobiles which was great for business, but what’s the point of having one if you can barely drive it? The countryside west of Ba Sing Se and just south of a massive mountain range where the university was situated was a far more appealing drive. Open roads winding up into the mountains made for a heavenly scenic route.

Asami was fantasizing about another joyride when someone rather heavy barreled into her and knocked everything in her hands to the ground, including a full mug of coffee. The leaves in front of her were stained with the light brown coffee, her heavy textbook was fluttering in the breeze on its spine, and the house keys she hadn’t yet put away had jingled to a stop by her feet. There was also a large black duffel bag and a person sprawled out before her but, quite frankly, she did not have time for that.

Her assailant had rolled over though, and sprung upright.

“I am so sorry! Oh man, I knocked your coffee everywhere! Did it get your book?” She had practically shouted and snatched the book up quickly, turning it every which way for signs of damage. 

Asami was taken aback by the loud girl, an athlete by the looks of her hoodie. She quirked an eyebrow and delicately plucked the textbook out of the other girls hands, shoving it into her bag.

“I’m sure it’s fine, thank you. Are you alright? Seems you had a hard fall.” Asami was nothing if not polite, and while she was down an entire coffee, she would not resort to being rude. 

The other girl laughed a little, again disturbing the quiet of the morning, and rubbed her neck. “I’m alright, nothing I’m not used to!” She grinned and picked up the coffee mug and keys, handing everything back to Asami. 

Asami stared at the girl with the shining blue eyes, her grey hoodie contrasting against her dark skin. She quickly gathered the rest of her belongings, storing everything away safely, when the girl spoke again.

“So, I’m Korra. I’m really sorry about knocking your stuff, maybe I could make it up to you? Get you another coffee?” She asked hopefully, that big grin was more of a hopeful smile now. Asami smiled back, her eyes squinting a little from the smile.

“I would love that, but I’m afraid I’d be late for my class. Maybe another time though?” She glanced at her watch, sussing that she’d probably make it to class with a minute to spare at this rate.

Korra nodded with a look of complete understanding before her eyes widened and she glanced at her bag. She pulled out her phone and a look of complete terror washed over her.

“Oh, I’m so late. Coach is going to kill me!” She swooped up her bag and took a few steps, turning toward Asami. “Hey! What’s your name? I’ll buy you a coffee sometime,” she called as she started jogging down another path.

“Asami! And I’ll be expecting it!” She shouted back, chuckling to herself as Korra stumbled a little on the edge of the pavement and then righted herself with a wave.

“Count on it!” 

* * *

Korra was once again late to practice and was making her best attempt to sneak into the locker rooms without her coach noticing. It’s not her fault she was distracted by a gorgeous face! When you knock a beautiful woman’s coffee to the ground, you have to offer a new one, right? Either way, Korra snuck into the ice rink through the back door, winding through dark hallways toward the locker rooms. She slipped into the home locker room and dropped her bag in front of her locker where her hockey sticks were already lined up.

“Nice of you to join us Korra.” A voice spoke and Korra nearly slammed her face into her locker in surprise. Her face ghosted over, and she turned slowly to face the wrath of her infamous coach.

“Coach Beifong, I’m really sorry but I ran into a girl, literally, and knocked all her stuff everywhere and I almost broke my wrist and I-“

“Enough! Korra, you are at this school on a scholarship. Do you really think you can afford to be late to every practice we have?” Coach Lin Beifong lectured her, one hand on her hip. Coach was a hard-ass, everyone knew, but she also got results. The Ba Sing Se University women’s ice hockey team was top of their conference practically every year since Lin took over. It was a competitive team at one of the top academic institutions, Korra didn’t need to be reminded that she was lucky to be here.

“You've always been one of my most talented players, Korra, but since your injury you have to put in the time and effort too.” Coach spoke, reminding Korra of the way her father would speak to her sometimes. 

Korra nodded and looked at her feet, shuffling back and forth.

“I know, coach. It’s just, my classes are hard this year. I was up late last night working on an assignment and I just overslept, I’m sorry. It’s hard dividing my time up between everything, you know?” 

Lin sighed and sat on one of the benches.

“Korra, this is the part of school that shapes who you become. You figure out time management, and your university athletics becomes about more than just hockey. It helps you prepare for the real world. I know third year is the hardest, but shape up. This will help you in the long run, kid.” She stood and clapped her hand on Korra’s shoulder, then turned toward the door and told Korra to hurry her ass up because she had suicides to run.

Korra groaned but knew not to push her luck. A rather heartfelt talk with coach and some suicides was leagues above past punishments. In fact, last year she missed a practice due to a hangover and ended up getting dragged out of her bed to run suicides until she puked. She shuddered at the thought of that day.

Korra geared up and laced up her skates and then pulled on a practice jersey as she perused which stick to use. Her thoughts wandered to her recent introduction to _Asami_. A gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl. 

The flowing hair, flawless style, and that smile. It was so easy. Like all she does is practice her smile in the mirror to perfect it. Asami. _Shoot_! _How am I supposed to get in touch with her_? Korra wracked her brain, remembering the textbook. What was it? Engineering? Something about engineering. She’d have to pay Varrick a visit.

* * *

Saturday, October 8th

It was two days later and Asami was studying the designs of the modern engine for her class (the modern engine that her father created and that was practically imprinted in Asami’s brain but she liked to be thorough in her assignments) when her phone chimed. She welcomed the distraction from her assignment, no matter how brief. She stretched out on her bed and placed her papers down, grabbing her phone off her nightstand.

A number she didn’t know had messaged her.

‘Hi Asami, this is Korra, the girl who wasted your coffee :P. I got your number from a mutual friend, I hope you don’t mind. I just wanted to offer you a coffee again, whenever you’re free’

Asami grinned at her phone, completely pushing her assignments aside and flopping down on her pillow to type a response.

‘Yes, I would love to get coffee with you. Tomorrow around noon? I shouldn’t be too busy. And just out of curiosity, who is it that we both know?’ It whooshed as it sent and Asami set her phone down to stare at the ceiling for a minute. She felt like a giddy pre-teen texting her crush which was ridiculous because, hello, they literally ran into each other for all of 4 minutes. Then her phone chimed twice and Asami felt another rush of excitement.

‘It seems we’ve both had the misfortune of knowing Varrick ;D’ The first one read, and then ‘And that’s great! I just have practice in the morning. We could meet up on campus?’

Asami huffed out a light laugh, of course Varrick would be involved.

‘Perfect! In the quad sound good? Also, sorry to hear you’ve been graced with Varricks presence.’ She pressed send and then took a deep breath, glancing back at her papers. She’ll have to get some extra work done tonight.

The ping of the new text sounded and Asami read it quickly. ‘I’ll meet you there at 12! And at least Varrick finally came in handy :)’

Asami smiled at her classmates expense and tapped out a quick response. ‘See you then!’ and settled back over her papers in the hopes of getting her mind back on track.

* * *

Sunday, October 9th

The next day, Korra made sure she was up early and prepared for practice. She finished her assignments earlier the day before, and got a great night of sleep in preparation. Practice went smoothly and the new kids were gelling with the team. A scrimmage saw the dynamic duo of Korra and Kuvira flattening their teammates with ease, Korra dominated at forward and Kuvira was a brick wall on defense. Suffice to say, the season would be a spectacular one.

It was only ten but Korra was eager to get back home and ready for her ‘outing’ with Asami. She had planned to take the other girl to the Black Bean, one of the smaller coffee shops in the town just down the road. She was afraid she’d seem overly excited, this was just grabbing a coffee with a new friend but boy was Korra smitten already.

Korra sped through her shower and packed her gear up quickly, grabbing her sticks to take home for the night as the boys would be in later. Unfortunately Korra’s teammates noticed her eagerness and it wasn’t long before Kuvira was sauntering over towards the forward.

“Hey Kor, you seem to be in an awful rush today. Got any plans that we don’t know about?” She asked leaning up against the locker with her arms crossed. Her tone was innocent curiosity but the look on her face betrayed her. Though Kuvira always looked like she was up to something.

Korra simply zipped the last of her gear away and turned toward Kuvira.

“Nope. Just tired of the stench of you losers.” She answered, standing up in Kuvira’s personal space and grinning back. Opal let out a loud laugh from the other side of the room and pegged her glove at Korra’s head.

Kuvira smiled in response and looked at Opal. “She’s trying to bait us Opal, to distract us from her unusual behavior. Classic Korra move.” She laughed in Korra’s face, poking her shoulder several times until Korra stepped back.

Korra saw the rest of her teammates glancing toward the duo. “Not like you’d do anything about it anyway. We all know you couldn’t take me one on one, Kuv.” Korra kept goading her friend.

Kuvira frowned and stepped toward the other girl but Opal spoke. “She’s doing exactly what you just said Kuvira, don’t fall for it. Come on Korra, just tell us. We just want to know what’s got you all antsy.” She smiled sweetly towards the two trying to avoid another one of their infamous and usually hazardous tussles.

Kuvira nodded thoughtfully, and promptly ignored Opal in favor of grappling Korra around the midsection. They tumbled into a locker and each clambered to get the other in a headlock.

“Let go ya big lug! I don’t have time for this!” Korra grunted as Kuvira started to tickle her waist. 

“Cheating!” Opal called, refereeing the fight. “Tickling was expressly forbidden Kuvira!” 

Korra tried to drop to the ground as dead weight, pulling Kuvira down a little with her. She wormed out of her friends grip and wrapped her knees together, taking her down entirely. Kuvira was ready though, and kept her arm wrapped around Korra’s neck getting her in a chokehold as they both fell to the floor.

They struggled on the ground for a few seconds until Korra slapped her hand a few times. Kuvira let go and sprawled back, panting a little and Korra sat up away from the girl.

“Jerk! That was unnecessary.” She punched Kuvira’s shoulder.

“Mhm. Whatever, I’m way up on you now anyway. What do you have planned today?” Kuvira stretched out on the floor and then stood up, fixing her still wet hair.

Korra sighed and flopped down on a bench. “I’m getting coffee with this girl I ran into the other day.” As expected, the locker room erupted in ‘ooohs’ and her teammates made kissy faces at her. “Yeah, yeah. I just owe her one because I knocked hers out of her hand,” Korra explained, she didn’t want her friends making a big deal out of it.

Opal sighed dreamily, “Aw, that’s such a meet cute!” She squealed.

Kuvira looked at her childhood friend strangely, “What the hell is a meet cute?” She demanded. Opal looked offended at her friends’ lack of knowledge.

Korra used the distraction to gather her things and slip out the door with a ‘love ya’ while Opal started ranting about all the romantic ways to meet someone.

* * *

The walk from the ice rink to the house she shared with nearly half the hockey team wasn’t a short one, but it was nice to be outside in the fresh air after being stuffed up in the locker room. The ‘hockey house’ was a three story colonial house on Stone Street, unofficially Athlete’s row. It was usual for student athletes to commandeer an entire house for themselves out of convenience and a place to host parties.

Korra got home and bounded up the steps to her top floor room and changed into a lazy outfit of leggings and one of her favorite hockey sweatshirts, the Ba Sing Se Brawlers. Then she grabbed some books and her laptop to spend some time at the library and out of the house before her teammates got home to tease her some more.

She was a little over eager and antsy, but she’d manage a few hours studying to at least make use of the day.

* * *

Asami was just finishing up her lab work due the next day when her alarm went off indicating noon was nearing. She gathered her things and glanced in a mirror to perfect herself, then made her way to the center of the quad to meet Korra. She was embarrassed to admit even to herself how excited she was just to get coffee. It’s been a while since Asami made new friends, and if nothing comes of this, at least she’ll spend a few hours learning about someone new.

The last time Asami had any semblance of a relationship was her first year at Ba Sing Se, and that was pretty much a disaster. They burned hot and quick, and then fell apart when real life happened. _‘Whoa, slow down Sato, why am I thinking about relationships? Until otherwise stated, this is just a get together with a genuinely nice girl who also happens to also be extremely attractive.’_

Asami laughed at herself for getting so caught up in all her thoughts. She really hasn’t been nervous like this in a long time.

She stopped at the fountain in the center of the quad and found a bench to settle herself on. She can at least appear casual as she waited for Korra to meet her.

It didn’t take long for Korra to come into view. She walked calmly down the path from the library with her book bag slung over one shoulder. She had a confident walk, her shoulders squared and chin up. Asami quickly straightened her own posture in fear of slouching.

When Korra was not entirely that close yet, she waved and called out “Hey Asami! I’m excited, are you?” Her cheeks tinged a bit, as if she hadn’t meant to say all of that quite yet.

Asami laughed and stood to greet her, now in normal speaking range.

“Yeah, I’m excited. Where did you have in mind for today?”

“The Black Bean, it’s in town but that path between the lecture hall and the turf fields takes us right there.” Korra pointed to the behind Asami toward the other side of campus.

Asami smiled and nodded, “Sounds great. How about you lead the way?”

They walked along the path that was similar to Asami’s route between campus and her apartment. It was a running trail that wound through the forest, but years of students walking to town led to another dirt path worn straight to their destination. It was a calm and serene walk, the girls commenting only on the scenery, or the quiet, or the birds.

Korra spoke more and more the closer they got to town, talking about the coffee shop, or a bookstore nearby, or the mall with the skating rink in the center. She sounded as if she were giving Asami a tour of the town.

The path broke out into a quiet street where Korra pointed out a small, vintage music store boasting the largest selection of records in town, and Asami had to laugh.

“Korra, I’ve been at Ba Sing Se for three years, I know the town pretty well.” She giggled gently, not wanting to embarrass the other girl.

Korra blushed deeply though, and laughed at herself.

“Duh, I figured I just… I was nervous and I need to talk when I’m nervous!”

Asami grinned and looped her arm through Korras', “Well… I don’t know this coffee shop so you can tell me all about that.”


	2. The Black Bean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read this. I'm glad some are enjoying it. This is short but I wanted to post it quickly to finish up the coffee shop part. It will take a little longer for the next chapter as I haven't written much of it yet, but I hope to post within a week.

* * *

 

The Black Bean was a small coffee shop attached to a bookstore named The Ninth Floor, incidentally a one story building. An entire wall of the coffee shop contained bookcases full of literature, magazines, and even comics, with a large doorway into the bookstore. There were couches and armchairs, a few booths, and several small tables. Most of the shop was taken up by studying students, but there were a few professionals enjoying their lunch breaks as well. It was decorated in deep, earthy colors, and hanging from the ceiling were leaflets of paper containing kanji characters.

They found a booth in the back and placed their things as Korra volunteered to get drinks. She walked to the queue and took a deep breath.

‘ _Relax Korra, you look like an idiot!’_

“What would you like?” The barista asked her.

Korra looked up from her thoughts and smiled at Mako, of course that loser wouldn’t even greet her.

“Hi to you too, nerd. Gimme a straight black coffee and my usual, please,” she ordered with a grin at her friend. She knew Mako through his brother Bolin, who Korra worked with at the school gym.

“Korra, who on Earth are you getting straight black coffee for? Your grandmother?” Mako teased her with a disgusted face. As a barista, he attested that only old people like their coffee without anything in it.

“Actually, I’ll be putting a splash of cream in it myself, sometimes you just can’t trust the workers” Korra stuck her tongue out at Mako and jerked her thumb to the side, “and I’m here with that lovely lady over there. I owe her a coffee after I ‘accidentally’ dropped hers.” She said with finger quotes and all.

Mako’s eyebrows shot up as he gaped at his friend, “Korra, did you pretend to run into a girl just to get a date? I thought only Bolin was stupid enough to do that!”

Korra laughed loudly, “You mean genius! But, also… I wasn’t exactly trying to do it.” She grinned sheepishly and walked backwards to her table, “be quick with those coffees and maybe I’ll tip you. How much makes me seem generous but not overly so?”

Mako groaned and lamented the many life decisions that brought him to this point.

* * *

“So Korra, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you from?”

Asami knew, of course, that Korra was Water Tribe thanks to the various blue accessories she wore, but she could never tell the two tribes apart.

“You want to guess?” Korra teased her.

Asami blushed, “absolutely not. I’m afraid I’d only insult you.” Being born in Republic City, Asami was well aware that many people were offended when confused to be of another nation.

Korra laughed loudly at her admission. “I’m from the South. And here’s a tip, Southerners are way more fun.” 

Their coffees were delivered then, by the stereotypical broody barista. Asami’s was black, as she ordered, and she reached for the tray of cream. Korra’s was the color of light caramel, probably filled with a mountain of sugary syrup.

Asami blew on her coffee to cool it while Korra dove right into hers, hissing a little at the heat.

“Do you live on campus, Asami?” Korra asked after she let her mouth cool.

"No, I have my own apartment by campus. You?”

Korra nodded, “I share a house with my teammates on Stone Street.”

Asami hummed in acknowledgement. “Athlete’s Row. What is it, exactly, that you play?” Asami couldn’t figure it out from any of Korra’s gear or apparel the other day.

“Oh! I play Ice Hockey. I’m actually here on scholarship for it.”

Asami didn’t follow sports but she did know that there were only two worth watching at BSSU and those were ice hockey and wrestling.

“Oh wow! I know the hockey teams here are great, that’s really impressive!”

Korra grinned in thanks and pointed to her sweatshirt. “Do you have a favorite team?”

She was referring to the professional league in which there were eight teams spread out through the nations. Unfortunately Asami was unaware of any of them.

“I don’t really follow any sports, I’m afraid. I’m from Republic City though, who’s their team?” She asked thoughtfully, perhaps she could stand to learn a little about hockey.

Korra screwed her face up in disgust, “No, no no no. No one likes the Rabbaroos. Here, you should root for the Ba Sing Se Brawlers. Everyone’s allowed two teams, their home team and an away team. Since you go here, the Brawlers are your team. Which is good, because they’re my second favorites!” She seemed so excited to be talking about her sport with Asami, to share her passion.

Asami smiled warmly at her childlike enthusiasm, “so who’s your number one?”

“The South Tribe Otter Penguins! They just won last year, and they’re stellar this year too! Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to play for them someday.” 

 

The nerves settled and their afternoon continued on in much the same fashion, learning more and more about each other and enthusiastically sharing stories from their childhoods. Outside, pillowy gray clouds churned in the sky as the sun gave way to shadows.

They talked about school; Asami was a Mechanical Engineering Major who could deconstruct concepts that went way over Korra’s head. She said her father practically threw a party when she disassembled a calculator at age 5, and since then she’s been fascinated by the rapidly developing technology. Korra explained how she fell in love with Athletic Training through her own injury last year. Tearing her ACL midway through the season put her in a bad frame of mind, but the Athletic Trainers helping her rehab her knee were a guiding light. She wants nothing more than to help people continue doing what they love for as long as they can.

Asami revealed she plans to work for her father at Future Industries once she graduates (Korra was unaware she was a Sato which was mind blowing enough). Though, she also admitted she may take a little break and do some traveling before bunkering down for a lifelong career in the same city she grew up in.

Korra had no set plans yet, though she always dreamed of going pro in hockey and she’s so close, why stop dreaming now? As it turns out, Korra’s father Tonraq actually played for the Ba Sing Se Brawlers when he was younger, which is the driving force behind Korra’s love of hockey. When her parents noted that she was a reckless and troublemaking child, Tonraq taught Korra all about hockey and how it made him ‘the man he is today’ he had said. Korra latched onto that, sharing a passion with her father and channeling her energy into athletics. Of course, she'll have her degree to fall back on too.

 

The hours came and went, the noon rush passing quickly. They were talking about their own family vacations to Ember Island in the Fire Nation when Mako announced his presence at their booth by awkwardly clearing his throat.

“Hey, uh… sorry Korra but my boss says you guys have to buy something else or he’ll kick you out. You’ve been here three hours.” He droned on. His boss was clearly visible behind the counter, arms crossed and staring daggers in Korra's direction.

Korra snorted. “Oh please. Bumi wouldn’t kick out an elephant rat.” She waved her hand dismissively at the old man at the counter but Asami did take a look at her watch.

“Wow, I can’t believe we’ve been here so long. We probably should get going, I have a presentation tomorrow morning that I’m dreading.” Asami said softly. 

The three could hear Bumi muttering at the counter, “At least someone has some manners!” and then shuffle back into the kitchen. Mako apologized again and bid the girls a good night.

They gathered their things and left the Black Bean, stepping out into the dull afternoon. Asami watched as Korra took a deep breath of the brisk air and smiled up at the sky. The sky was filled with dense clouds shaped like rolling waves on the ocean.

“Thanks for taking me here, Korra. It’s such a cute place, I feel like I’ll be back here studying soon.” 

“Yeah, no problem. It’s my favorite shop, even with Mako and Bumi killing the vibe.” Korra poked her tongue out at the shop as if the guys could see her.

They walked in the direction of the trail again, now darkened underneath the foliage. It was just as quiet as their walk to town, hardly even an animal around. Korra made sure to stomp several crunchy leaves for the pure satisfaction, again leaving Asami to marvel at her childlike enthusiasm.

Korra pointed out a few trees on the way, saying they were only native to the Earth Kingdom. Asami heard a bird call and was almost certain it was a sparrowkeet but she couldn't be sure.

Being a lazy Sunday evening, not many others were out on the path with them. Asami asked Korra about her classes the next day, and Korra said she only had two around noon, but first thing in the morning was practice. She practices four mornings a week, and one practice the night after games which was more of a recap of their game and what went wrong or right. Asami's presentation was for her business class; she had to pitch a fake product for a fake company.

Korra laughed and said that actually sounded kind of fun. Asami assured her it was hard work coming up with a product that doesn't already exist.

 

Soon enough, they walked into view of the quad on campus. They walked to the center and stood facing each other, unsure where to go from there. Korra smiled at Asami and spoke first, "well, I had fun! Ah, you think you'd want to hang out more? Like, be friends and all?" she awkwardly stuttered out. Korra never realized how weird it was making friends that you weren't already forced to spend all your time with, like teammates or co-workers.

Asami laughed gently and put her hand on Korra's arm, "Of course we can be friends, Korra. I really had a great time." She smiled back. "We'll have to do something again soon, ok?"  Korra nodded back with a blush. 

"Yeah, definitely. Well, you said you've got your presentation so you probably need to get going. Text me when you're home? I know you're close but I like to be sure." 

"I will, Korra. Thanks for today, again. It was just the break I needed, this year is already a killer. And don't hesitate to text me alright? Maybe we can get lunch or study together sometime." Asami suggested.

Korra nodded and watched Asami turn toward the path to her building, at least a 15 minute walk. They waved goodbye and Korra started walking to her own home, pausing for a second to grin to herself. It was perfect, being with Asami. The conversation flowed easily, Korra actually admitted to someone that she hopes to play hockey when she's done with school. She doesn't tell many people that, they'd just think it was a pipe dream.

Not Asami though. Asami isn't just anybody, she's going to take over a multimillion dollar, world-wide corporation. Of course playing hockey wouldn't seem like a pipe dream to her.

Korra shook her head but could'n't wipe the smile off her face. She walked home happily, feeling lighter and more than a little nervous about what was in store for them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit of a filler to get the story along. I figure there will only be a few more chapters, not a long story. Probably about a week for next chapter. And, I hope to have another story up soon, I'll probably finish this first though. Also I made an edit, Asami no longer lives in a complex, rather just a building.

* * *

Thursday, October 13th

Over the course of the next few days, Asami and Korra tried to meet up several times only to have their conflicting schedules foil their plans. They planned lunches, study sessions, late night movie hang outs but nothing ever worked out for them.

Asami was starting to get seriously annoyed. If it wasn’t her course load getting in the way, it was Korra’s hockey or job. _Her job!_ Korra works at the school gym! Of course, Asami had no clue what her hours were, and it might be weird to ask.

_Hey Korra, when do you work at the gym? I just really want to see you…_ a little too desperate for Asami.

But just maybe Asami could stop by for a workout and just pray that Korra will be there. Ughh. Asami has resorted to working out just so she can see a girl. How did it come to this?

With her mind made up, Asami checked the time and settled in for another hour and a half of studying while Korra finished her afternoon class. On Tuesday, Korra had to work at the gym right after her class, so it stands to reason she’d be there again.

 

Asami was changed into her spandex leggings, running shoes, and a tank top in preparation of doing some cardio at the gym. She hadn’t been yet this semester, having grown sick of the usual crowd and preferring to run outside.

She checked her hair, made sure everything was in place, and took off to campus on her way to the gym. She walked quickly, under the guise of warming up in preparation of running on the treadmill. 

Asami paused at the door to the gym, glancing at her reflection quickly. With a deep breath, she walked in and presented her student card to the guy at the desk ( _not Korra_ ) and headed towards a treadmill with slightly less enthusiasm now. _Only one more chance_ , she thought as she glanced around the room. There was also an upstairs section, so Asami ditched her first treadmill and bounded up those stairs.

Once there, she had a view of the rest of the gym equipment below and settled in at a treadmill. It took ten minutes before she spotted the other gym attendant, also not Korra.

With a sigh, Asami glanced at how long she’d been running and decided to keep it up for a little longer before using some strength equipment so she could actually get a decent workout in.

* * *

 

Korra walked into the gym prepared and ready to start her night shift when she saw… _Asami? At the gym? Now?_ As Korra tried to process her jumbled thoughts (she’s fairly certain she short circuited)… when, unfortunately, Bolin started speaking.

“Korra! Korra, I think we found an *ass* to rival nine seventeen! Oh man, you should have seen it!” He yelled at her, whispering the bit that would get them in trouble. Despite Bolins good intentions, the one person Korra wished had not heard him was right there, next to him, listening intently at the mention of Korras name.

Korra felt all the blood drain from her face as Asami turned, like slow motion, to face her. She had a look of amused curiosity on her face. Korra tried to smile back but judging by the way Kuvira burst out laughing, it didn’t come out well.

“Uhhh… hey Asami! Wh-what are you doing here?” She questioned feebly.

Asami simply smiled, “I just came in for a workout and I thought maybe I’d run into you.” 

Bolin seemed to have clued in, “Oh shoot! Did I mess up?” He questioned innocently.

Kuvira put a comforting hand on his shoulder, “No, no, Bolin,” She smiled, “You did just fine.”

Korra cleared her throat and responded to Asami, “I uh, I switched with Bolin because I needed to work on a group project after class…”

Asami nodded and smiled, “That’s alright, I still got my workout in.”

Korra nodded back, still feeling the embarrassment creeping up her cheeks.

The other girl seemed to take pity on Korra, because she so kindly brushed off what she had just heard. “We really should get together again, maybe we could do something on Saturday?”

Korra started to nod but saw Kuvira shaking her head, and then groaned and looked up in frustration. “I’ve got my first game on Saturday. It’s away against Kyoshi Academy, pretty much an all day trip.”

Asami grimaced and nodded, “right! Of course, your season is starting. That’s ok, we’ll find a time. I should let you get to work, it’s clearly very important.” Asami smirked as she passed by.

Korra grimaced and watched Asami walk out the door with a wave, groaning again at her misfortune. She slumped and turned towards the desk to drop her things and pull on her polo, preparing for what was to be a long shift. Bolin shuffled awkwardly away, taking off his work polo to reveal a t-shirt, ready to work out.

Then, Kuvira appeared before her.

“Who was _that?”_ She questioned severely, eyebrow quirked in interest. 

Korra sighed and looked longingly at the door. “ _That_ was Asami. The coffee girl. We had a great time at the Black Bean, but we haven’t been able to meet up again!” She pouted.

Kuvira smirked and smacked Korra on the shoulder, “aww, poor baby. What about Saturday night? Obviously we’re having a party after we win.” she suggested.

Korra nodded but looked unsure, “What if we scare her off? She’s like, super smart Kuvira. It’s not really her scene.”

Her teammate tutted and snapped her rubber cleaning gloves off onto the desk. “Korra, honey, our parties are everyone’s scene.” She grinned cockily.

Korra laughed in response and shook her head at her friend. Years of knowing Kuvira have taught her that while the other girl reeks of arrogance, she usually backs it up. Of course, their parties have been on the massive scale in past years, but Korra knows the first of the season will be a much calmer affair, maybe Asami would be interested.

“Yeah, alright. Maybe I’ll tell her about it. But don’t make me look like a fool!” Korra accused Kuvira.

* * *

Friday, October 14th

It was Friday evening and Korra was perched on the edge of the couch, stuck in a close race against Kuvira in Mario Kart. They were seated next to each other, shoulders ramming together as they tried to mess the other up.

They were neck in neck, each taking lead only to lose it in seconds, the finish line flying toward them… and Kuvira won! The taller girl jumped up and did a rather obscene gesture in Korra’s direction, who in return stood up to challenge her back.

“Rematch! Immediately! You clearly cheated!” Korra yelled.

Kuvira picked her controller back up and looked indignant, “You can’t even cheat in this game, Korra! But fine, I’ll embarrass you again, if that’s what you want.”

They settled back on the couch ready to play again when Korra’s phone chimed. She spared a glance as the countdown started on the screen and saw Asami had messaged her. She frantically grabbed the phone and placed it in her lap as the race started and she attempted to multitask.

_Asami Coffee:_ _Hey Korra, I know it’s lame on a Friday night but you have your game tomorrow so you’re probably taking it easy… and I was wondering if you wanted to study with me? I need an emergency study sesh…_

Korra nearly dropped her controller as she worked out in her head what was going on. _She’s right, I do have to take it easy with the game tomorrow. I’m only playing games with Kuvira, I could study tonight…_

She was so busy thinking things over that she didn’t even notice she’d fallen into 8th place in the race. Kuvira kept racing, focusing on her own character.

Korra texted back quickly, completely ignoring her redemption rematch. 

_Korra: I’d love to! I’ll be over as soon as I can… address?_

She hopped off the couch and ran from the room, nearly barreling into Jinora and Opal and their bowls of popcorn. 

Only a few minutes later she was flying down the stairs in a change of clothes, still comfy but less I-haven’t-left-my-house-all-day, and carrying her book bag. She ran out of the house with a wave to her roommates and a shout, “Gotta blast!”

The three left in the room had barely moved since her initial escape. Merely staring at each other with bewildered faces, they slowly shrugged it off and went back to their activities.

 

Korra was out the door before she even had Asami’s address, but she knew the area, and that was good enough of a start.

She was halfway to Asami’s address, back to campus and all the way across to another street that led towards a residential area, when she got a response from Asami. Then she really started booking it.

Nearing the street, Korra slowed down to a brisk walk, trying to smooth out her hair and not look like she just ran. The street was pretty, something out of an artsy picture. From what she could tell in the dark, it was lined with row-homes of all different colors, and trees in varying stages of fall. She watched the numbers on the houses grow, getting nearer to Asami’s, when a thought struck her. _What if Asami needs help studying? What if she finds out I’m not smart? Ohh, she’s so smart she won’t like me anymore…_

Korra stopped and chewed on her fingernail slightly, one that had a sharp edge to it and had been bugging her all day. She was startled by another chime from her phone,

_Asami Coffee: Text me when you’re here, I’ll come down._

Korra took a deep breath and shook her head, trying not to overthink everything. She waited a minute or two and shot Asami a quick text. Before long, the other girl was was opening the door to her building, wearing her own comfy clothes.

“Hey, you.” She smiled, opening the door to Korra.

Korra stepped into the hallway and Asami turned toward the stairs.

“I’m only on the second floor,” she said.

Korra nodded and followed after her up the staircase, into a hallway and finally at Asami’s door, the only one on the floor. Inside was a small one bedroom apartment with a rather open floorplan, save for the bedroom. The kitchen was to the left, almost straight ahead was a sliding glass door that led to a small balcony. Then there was Asami’s desk and her couch and TV, and a door to the bedroom.

One of the first things Korra noticed inside Asami’s apartment was the numerous coffee mugs littering surface tops. Multiple still had the contents inside, whether it was tea or coffee. It struck Korra as strange that Asami, this seemingly perfectly put together girl, lost track of her morning beverages and let them sit out. The next thing that struck Korra was the number of books laying out, stacked against walls and sitting wherever coffee mugs weren’t.

Asami seemed to notice Korra’s inspection because she blushed and hurried to gather up the mugs. She placed them in the sink and then turned around, leaning against the counter. She gestured toward the opposite wall. 

“I realize now that I don’t have a whole lot of study space but you’re welcome to take the couch, I sort of take over the whole floor.”

“Ok, no problem, I’ll be on my computer mostly. Uh, did you need help studying?” Korra asked with a bit of a blush.

Asami smiled nervously, “Maybe? I’m kind of intense when it comes to flashcards and I have a big exam coming up and… I’m nervous.”

Korra nodded in amusement at her, getting so worked up over an exam in a few days.

“Ok, well how about you study up and I’ll test you when you’re ready?”

They sat down and got to work on their own projects and after some time Asami turned to Korra. They started with a stack of flashcards, Korra reciting questions and words that she barely pronounced correctly. 

They took a break long enough for Korra to admit she knew nothing about Satomobiles, having grown up in the South Pole they travelled by snowmobiles or polar bear dogs. That got them on a tangent about Naga, Korra’s polar bear dog who lives back home with her parents.

After some more studying, Asami began to yawn and rub her eyes and Korra peaked at a clock to see how late it was.

“Oh my gosh,” Asami startled, “you probably need to go? You have a big game and you should get your rest!” 

Korra chuckled a little, “Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of time to sleep on the train. But you on the other hand, seem awfully tired, huh?”

Asami nodded and suppressed another yawn. “I’ll walk you out, ok?”

Korra collected her things and stood with a stretch while Asami grabbed her keys.

“Hey Asami, before I forget… we’re going to have a party tomorrow after we get back, at my house. You can come if you want, if you’re not too busy?”

“Oh,” Asami thought it over. While she should be studying, maybe a party with Korra would be fun, and she studied so much tonight anyway. “Um, yeah, maybe I’ll come! I’d like to.”

Korra smiled and made her way downstairs, to the door of the building.

“Great, let me know if you want to tomorrow and I’ll text you my address and what time we’re back. It’ll probably be late.”

Asami nodded and leaned forward to hug Korra, surprising the other girl a little. 

“I will. Thanks for helping me Korra, I know you probably didn’t want to study on a Friday night.” 

“No problem, I wasn’t really doing anything else.” She smiled.

They said their goodbyes and Korra promised to text when she got back home, it was later after all. Then both girls went their separate ways, each with a soft smile on their faces.


	4. The Night Of

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter four on this dumpster fire of a day. I figure this story will be 6 chapters, possibly 7. Probably a few days for the next chapter.

* * *

Saturday, October 15th

Asami woke the next morning to a cloudy, gray sky. She could see some bare trees out her window, swaying their empty branches in the breeze. She climbed out of bed and pulled on a fluffy bathrobe, the one her father would always tease her over, saying she had the disposition of an old lady.

Unexplainably, Asami had the urge to bake a pie. She couldn’t remember the last time she did, though she was sure it was with her mother when she was very little. Still yet, she had a strong urge.

_What to bake?_ She thought, _maybe I’ll ask Korra._

With a quick tap on her phone, she asked Korra what her favorite kind of pie was and set about getting ready for the day. It was still early, though she wasn’t sure what time Korra had to be on her way to her game, but she didn’t expect a reply for at least a little while.

Eventually, after finally cleaning all of her coffee mugs, Asami heard her phone chime and she rushed to see the answer. 

_Korra: Pecan Pie!_

Asami smiled, of course Korra would like a sugar filled pie. She shot a quick thanks, saying she’ll bring it to the party, and then got ready to head to the store to do her grocery shopping and pick up appropriate ingredients. First though, she needed a recipe.

 

It was nearly noon when Asami popped the finished pie into the oven. She smelled faintly of sugar and syrup, her hands were a bit sticky, but Asami was sure she did everything correctly.

She washed up and then looked at the clock. Korra said they’d be back late so the pie should have plenty of time to cool. Asami leaned on her kitchen counter drumming her fingers, thinking of what to do for the rest of the day. What did she used to do? Why is it all of a sudden that she seems to be so bored when Korra isn’t around?

Asami groaned and decided a walk to the Black Bean might do some good.

 

She took the long walk through campus, and into the forest path, enjoying the chill in the air and the calm of a Saturday. After enjoying herself in the outdoors, Asami eventually made her way to the coffee shop to warm up. She settled for a cup of tea and a book from one of the shelves, suggested by Bumi himself.

It was a ...dry read, if Asami was honest. All about war tactics and strategy, but Asami pushed on until finally giving up and grabbing a stack of comic books. She spent nearly two hours in the shop, when she received a text from Korra.

_Korra: WE WON!! Expected, but still exciting! :)_

Asami chuckled at Korra’s exuberance.

_Asami: That’s awesome! Did you score?_

_Korra: Of course I did! I got 3, the score was 7-4 so… I was the game changer really._

With a shake of her head, Asami stood from her seat and placed her comic books and trash away, deciding to take her texting conversation on the road.

They spoke for the next hour, Korra talking all about her game and Asami googling what most of the words meant. Eventually Korra had to go, wanting to catch a nap before they arrived home and the festivities started. So Asami said goodbye, and got herself ready for the night.

 

Once Asami was satisfied with her outfit and makeup, she gathered up her pie and purse and shot off a text to Korra. Then she made her way out of her apartment and towards the athletes’ house.

Campus on a Saturday night was a wholly different affair than during the day. There were students everywhere. Walking to parties, getting home from their daily activities, there were pickup games on the fields, and other sporting events that were just winding down.

Asami walked through the throngs of students and was eventually at the athletes’ row of houses, which was an entirely different kind of packed.

She wasn’t sure who was invited to Korra’s party, but there were plenty of other parties going on too.

Once she doubled checked the address (though the crossed hockey sticks posted on the lawn were a dead giveaway), Asami took a deep breath and made her way up to the door. She contemplated knocking but quickly realized that was foolish as she could hear the pounding music through the door.

She walked right in and already got a whiff of alcohol and sweat even though the party had just started. And then the sheer number of bodies packed in the house was overwhelming, and Asami felt silly for bringing a pie, of all things.

“Hey, you’re Korra’s friend right?” Someone asked, walking down the stairs. Asami vaguely recognized her from the school gym.

“Yeah, she invited me tonight,” Asami explained, looking around the foyer of the house.

The girl nodded and her gaze quickly dropped to the object in Asami’s hands.

“I notice you’ve brought something, baked goods, it seems. I could... pop that in the fridge, if you’d like?” She asked so innocently and intently.

Asami was just about to hand over the precious pie when Korra came rocketing around a corner.

“NO! Don’t do it!” She flew in between Asami and the other girl, shielding the pie from reaching hands. “I’ve got a mini fridge in my room, we can keep it safe in there!” She shouted, turning and sticking her tongue out at her friend.

The other girl glowered as Korra dragged a bewildered Asami up a few flights of stairs.

“Don’t listen to Kuvira, she’s just trying to steal my pie- er, your pie…”

Asami laughed and informed Korra that the pie was in fact meant for her. Pecan and all. 

Korra pulled Asami into her bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them. She pointed Asami toward the mini-fridge in the corner of the room, and then slumped on her bed.

Asami nudged some things around to make room for the pie, and turned to Korra

“Why do you have a mini-fridge in your room?”

Korra smiled wryly, “Because I live with with five other hockey players. Food does not last long in this house, Asami.” She seemed very serious and Asami could tell Korra was intense about her food.

“By the way,” Korra started, “hi. And you look nice.”

Asami smiled back at Korra, observing the others girls lazy outfit of rolled up joggers and a tank top. Not that she was complaining as the tank top showed of her rather sculpted arms.

“And you look… comfy.” She grinned at Korra teasingly.

Korra blushed and looked down. “I usually change later, when everyone’s pretty drunk but some of the boys came over and got the party started early.” Then she stood and jerked her thumb towards the door. “Why don’t I introduce you to everyone? Oh! And thanks for the pie, that was really nice, we’ll have to have a slice before you leave, huh?”

Asami nodded and waved off her thanks, dropping her purse and jacket on Korra’s bed and heading for the door.

Asami walked out first, looking around the third floor which consisted simply of another bedroom and a bathroom. “So you really live with five other girls? I couldn’t imagine, especially being an only child.” She commented as they headed down the stairs.

Korra laughed loudly. “Yeah, well you get used to it. I’m an only child too, but growing up in the South Pole I was surrounded by my village, and I’ve played hockey forever so I’ve always had teammates. It’s hard to get away from people sometimes.”

Asami smiled back at her, “I'll have to take you for a drive sometime then, it’s peaceful.”

 

They made their way to the party split between the first floor and the basement. Korra introduced her, officially, to Kuvira, and some other teammates like Opal and Jinora. She also met Korra’s coworkers Bolin and Kai, from the gym.

The boys hockey team was partying it up in the basement, their season not starting until the next week. A good chunk of the party was on the first floor though, mostly consisting of the team’s closer friends hanging out, playing beer pong, and lazy dancing.

Asami and Korra stayed upstairs themselves, watching games of pong and flip cup, amongst some other, more intricate games designed merely to get players drunk.

“How long have they been together?” Asami questioned, nodding her head toward Opal and Kuvira who were dominating a game of beer pong.

Korra almost spit out her drink in shock. “ _Them_? No way, they’re just friends. Since they were kids.” She corrected laughingly. Asami looked surprised and glanced at them again, looking unsure.

“Well ok, if you say so.” They both watch as Kuvira smiled down at Opal who was ecstatic at knocking out her second cup of the game.

“Yeah, don’t be crazy…” Korra muttered to herself.

The longer she watched, though, the more it made sense.

It was in Korra’s opinion that Kuvira was, in fact, evil. Her wolfish grin and shining, green eyes gave her the look of perpetual deviance. Constantly deceiving. Asami’s observation had startled Korra, never in a million years would she have thought of _those two_. But the longer she watched, the more it made sense.

And Korra felt her smile grow wider at the thought. This was gold. The silver bullet she needed. She would hold this over Kuvira’s head for as long as she could.

 

As the night was winding down, partygoers stumbled out of the home and to their own dorms and houses streets away. Asami could hardly stifle several yawns as the hour grew later. Korra noticed, catching a yawn herself. 

“You could crash here, if you want. Jinora went home with Kai so I could take her bed and you can have mine…” she offered as she lounged on one of the couches in the living room.

Asami mulled it over but a yawn caught her off guard and she sheepishly smiled at Korra. “I think that might be best.” Korra laughed back and nodded her head toward the stairs.

The rest of the house was in the basement finishing the final round of beerball, leaving the upstairs rather barren.

They climbed the multiple staircases to the top floor and entered Korra’s room first. Korra handed Asami some clothes to sleep in and hovered briefly.

“Um, I’m glad you came, Asami. Hope you had fun.” She said, staring at Asami as she sat on the bed.

Asami smiled back at Korra, looking her over briefly. She was slightly flushed from the alcohol of the night, and wasn’t good at hiding her nerves.

“Korra, would you like to kiss me?” Asami asked innocently, taking the plunge and handling her own nerves much better than Korra.

Korras’ eyebrows shot up and she bit her lip, before nodding eagerly, standing still in her spot. Asami rolled her eyes and stood, slowly walking to the other girl by the door. She stopped in front of her, close, sharing their breath, and for the first time realized Korra was just a tad shorter. It was cute.

Korra looked Asami in the eyes, and then down at her mouth, and then surged forward to lock lips. Asami was startled but kissed back, slowly bringing her hand up to thread fingers with Korra, the other holding onto the hem of her shirt. They kissed slow and gentle, swaying back and forth with the others force, until Korra pulled back with a goofy grin.

Asami leaned forward for one more peck and then pushed Korra to the door.

“Thank you for inviting me, Korra. I had a great time.” She smiled mischievously. Then she nudged Korra out of her own room and closed the door, leaning against it and sighing happily. With a little mental victory dance, she changed into Korra’s clothes and settled into bed. She snuggled into the covers, catching a coconutty smell on the pillows, and smiled when she heard Korra shutting the door to Jinora’s bedroom. She let out a deep breath, and nodded off quickly.

* * *

Sunday, October 16th

The next morning Asami woke to birds chirping outside and a slight chill in the air. She sat up with a shiver and got out of bed to snoop in Korra’s closet. She pulled on the first hoodie she found, no doubt a South Tribe Otter Penguins hoodie judging by the otter penguin holding a hockey stick on the front. 

She carefully padded out of the room and saw Jinora’s door wide open, so she made her way downstairs as a ruckus rose up from the first floor.

She walked into the kitchen upon a rather questionable scene. Korra was sitting on a counter top, arms and legs sticking out while Opal was standing in between her legs and playing defense against an aggressive Kuvira.

“Stop it Kuv! It’s not for you!” Opal was shouting as she and Kuvira locked hands in a game of shove and Korra nudged at Kuvira with her feet. Two other housemates were watching lazily, she recognized them as Izumi and Adi. Both scampered away with a chuckle and Izumi filled Asami in on the situation.

“We all had pie for breakfast except for Kuvira because she got up late, and now Korra’s trying to save the last piece for you.” She explained and then walked off to her own bedroom.

Asami was really blown away at the lengths these girls would go for food.

She cleared her throat and the three wrestling girls paused to turn and look at her.

“Why don’t we split the last piece, so we can both have some?” Asami suggested.

Korra and Kuvira both frowned and bucked at each other but Opal stomped her foot.

“Absolutely not, Asami. You made a pie for Korra, she was nice enough to share with _most_ of us, you should have the rest. Kuvira can deal with it.” Opal huffed.

Korra laughed and stuck her tongue out at Kuvira as if Opal were the parent deciding the fight. Korra hopped off the counter, pulling a covered plate out from behind her.

She offered it to Asami with a smile as Opal comforted Kuvira behind them.

“Don’t worry Kuvira, I’ll make you a pie. Blueberry, your favorite, ok?” Opal was muttering as she ushered Kuvira from the kitchen.

Asami shook her head in amusement and sat at the kitchen counter next to Korra.

“You all had pecan pie for breakfast?” She was baffled.

Korra nodded with a blush, “well, I really wanted some. It’s amazing, by the way!” Korra exclaimed.

Asami smiled her appreciation, “Oh good, I haven’t made a pie, basically ever.”

Asami poked at her slice of pie, taking a few bites to see if it really was good, and hummed in satisfaction. Pie wasn’t exactly a balanced breakfast for her though, so she suggested Korra give the rest to Kuvira (though she had a sneaking suspicion Korra would do no such thing).

Eventually Asami had to leave and they headed upstairs to gather her things. Korra volunteered to walk her home, of course.

They walked to Asami’s apartment at a leisurely pace, recounting ridiculous events of the night before and what they both had planned for the day. Their breath was visible in the chilly morning air as they walked along the orange, leafy sidewalks.

When they reached the door to Asami’s building, she turned and smiled at Korra.

“Thank you for walking me, Korra.”

“Yeah, no problem. I’m glad you came to the party, we’ll have plenty more this season.” Korra grinned at Asami and pointed at her, “Oh, and nice hoodie.” She winked.

Asami blushed and moved to pull it off but Korra stopped her.

“You can borrow it, you look cute in it. It’s my favorite though, so be careful.”

“Ok, I promise.” Asami leaned forward and gave Korra a chaste kiss as she moved to open the door.

They said their goodbyes and promised to text that night after Korra’s practice.

And they went about their day knowing that this was the start of something great.


	5. Home Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woops, took a bit longer. I've been busy. I'm fairly certain I can finish this up next chapter, so look out for that in the next week. And thanks for all the comments and kudos, I'm glad you all like it!

* * *

Saturday, October 22nd

Korra bounced up and down on her skates, trying to quell the jitters inside her. It was the teams first home game of the season, against Omashu University. It would be a tough game, Omashu always put up a fight, but Korra wasn’t worried about the outcome.

She had invited Asami to watch the game, and from peeking her head out of the locker every few minutes, Korra had not seen the other girl yet.

Coach started her pre-game speech to pep the girls and Korra sighed and tuned into Beifong. They wrapped up quickly and soon the team was heading out onto the ice for some laps.

As they settled themselves on the bench and waited for the refs to get ready, Coach Beifong observed their arena.

She looked into the stands and actually snarled as she whipped her head around towards Opal.

“Beifong! What is your mother doing here?” She demanded.

Opal, despite having the least reason to fear coach of anyone on the team, actually trembled before her.

“Uhhh, she’s been wanting to see me play and Wing and Wei are visiting the campus.”

Sure enough, following behind Suyin Beifong were the twins with their arms full of concession stand snacks and homemade posters cheering on Opal and Kuvira. Kuvira’s contained a very poorly drawn caricature of her signature brows and mole, which she vowed to destroy them for. Opals’ declared her their favorite sister which left Korra genuinely puzzled for a solid minute.

“But… you’re their only sister,” she questioned feebly as they studied the twins artwork.

Opal sighed, “I’m fairly certain they include Huan in that equation.”

“Oh, well that’s even worse” Kuvira snickered to a disapproving look from Opal.

The two bickered as Korra tuned them out and instead scoured the stands for Asami.

Kuvira paused her argument with Opal long enough to shove Korra,

“Oh, calm down lover girl, she’ll be here. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” Kuvira teased her. Korra glanced over at the girl and raised an eyebrow.

“Shut up Kuvira. Why don’t you go awkwardly flirt with Opal some more.”

Kuvira’s face dropped and she turned a ghostly color, spluttering at Korra before sulking away. Korra smirked, glad to have found Kuvira’s weakness.

The ref called for the starting lineups to get out there and Kuvira and Opal hustled onto the ice, Korra remaining on the bench.

It became clear early on though that Kuvira’s head was not in the game and coach pulled one of the forwards and sent Korra out there to pick up the slack. Coach considered Kuvira and Korra two of the best on the team, so she liked to keep them in separate lines rather than overload one line and leave another weakened. Though today, it looked like Korra may be pulling overtime.

She strapped her helmet on and slid out onto the ice, stick in hand, and spared one more glance to the stands. There, in the middle with a perfect view, was a bundled up Asami offering a shy wave. Korra grinned (not entirely visible through the cage of her helmet) and tipped her head before jetting off, jumping into the game.

 

The game ended closer than Korra would have liked. They won by a single goal, and coach gave Kuvira a good chewing out at the end for her lackluster performance.

Coach also spent a great deal of time detailing everyones’ failures during the game, making Korra grow impatient. All she wanted to do was shower and see Asami. Korra had a sneaking suspicion Coach was keeping them long to avoid her sister, Suyin.

When their post-game talk was finally wrapped up, Korra flew through her shower and rushed out to meet Asami, still waiting in the stands near the entrance to the locker rooms.

Asami stood and waved at Korra who rushed over and pushed her wet hair out of her face.

“Hey, sorry, coach kept us as long as she could, I swear.” Korra explained and dropped her bag. Asami just smiled and shook her head.

“That's no problem. Your game was amazing! I’m not really sure what was going on and I lost the puck a lot but I liked it!” She exclaimed. 

They chatted for a bit, Korra explaining the questions Asami had about the game. Eventually Korra paused to greet Suyin and the twins as they made kissy faces at her, and she decided it was time to head out before being forced to witness the Beifong family reunion.

Her and Asami walked back to campus together, chatting idly.

“Hey Asami, do you want to do something tomorrow?” Korra asked hopefully.

Asami smiled and nodded, “Anything in particular?”

Korra scuffed her feet against the ground. “Well, I was thinking, if you’re up for it, we could go pumpkin picking? But I don’t have a car and we’d have to drive…”

Asami laughed lightly that Korra was nervous to ask her to drive.

“Of course I’ll drive, the pumpkin patch up in the mountains?” She asked.

Korra nodded happily and grinned at Asami. “Mhmm. Have you been?”

“No, I haven’t, but I know about it. I’d love to go.” 

“Great!” Korra exclaimed, echoing slightly in the Saturday afternoon of campus. “The boys are hosting a party tonight, if you’re interested?”

Asami grimaced and shook her head slightly. “I really should get some work done if we’re going out tomorrow.”

“Right, sure sure. Well, I should probably get home, I’m sure Su wants the ‘411’ on my life, as she would say.” Asami giggled at Korra’s impression of Opals mother. “Oh, and you were right, about Kuvira being into Opal, at least. I mentioned something and messed her up for the whole game.”

Asami’s jaw dropped, “Korra! Even I could tell she wasn’t playing right!”

Korra merely grinned like a dope and shrugged. “She was bugging me. Serves her right.”

Asami shook her head dropped a chaste kiss to Korra’s cheek, hugging her tightly.

“Well, don’t be afraid to text me. I might take a while to respond but it’s only because I get caught up in my assignments.” Asami told her.

Korra nodded and watched Asami walk home, mentally preparing herself for the Beifong madness that has surely taken over her home.

* * *

Sunday, October 23rd

The next morning, Korra was up and ready for her day earlier than usual. She had a hearty breakfast, eggs, a bagel, bacon, and a heaping pile of hashbrowns, and made her way to the gym for a quick weights session.

Kuvira would be working, having switched with Kai last minute to no doubt avoid Opal at home. Korra felt a little bit of remorse, but then, it's not her fault Kuvira is such a wimp.

Korra was in the middle of light squats when Kuvira finally showed her face, nearly causing Korra to drop the bar.

"How did you know?" She accused the other girl fiercely.

Korra reracked her weights and turned to look at her friend, who looked off her game still.

"Asami noticed. I told her she was crazy but then I thought about it and it makes sense."

Kuvira looked, no longer flustered, but almost upset.

Korra actually was starting to feel bad. "I won't tell Opal if that's what you're worried about. I'm not that mean."

Kuvira shook her head with a sigh and looked at Korra. "I'm scared that I'm that obvious." She admitted.

Her admission surprised Korra, having only seen a significantly nicer side to Kuvira once, when Korra had torn her ACL and the other girl was her number one support.

Korra cleared her throat, "It's not, I don't think. Like I said, Asami noticed, but she's like, super smart and stuff. Have you... ah, considered telling Opal or something?" Korra rubbed her neck awkwardly, not used to these conversations with Kuvira.

Kuvira shook her head quickly, eyes widening, "Are you crazy? I've known Opal for 12 years, trust me, it won't happen. Just, keep it quiet, please?"

"Yeah, of course, don't worry about it Kuv." Korra assured her. Kuvira rubbed her face and got back to work, and Korra watched her for a minute. Surely there's something she can do.

 

Korra finished her workout and left the gym, no more sign of Kuvira. She got home and showered and prepared for the pumpkin patch, bundling in a light sweater and jacket, topping it off with a South Tribe Otter Penguins pom-pom hat. She sent a message to Asami, saying she'll meet her at her apartment.

When she arrived at Asami's apartment, the other girl was tearing through her room for an outfit still. Korra laughed and helped her decide on appropriate pumpking picking clothing, and eventually they were ready to leave.

Asami lead Korra to her car, a vintage Satomobile from 15 years ago. It was one of the first, truly acclaimed vehicles that Future Industries came out with, and one of her father's favorites. He kept it in perfect condition for Asami until she was old enough to drive it. Korra was impressed, despite her lack of knowledge on vehicles.

Korra was less thrilled when they started driving, learning that Asami had a penchant for driving fast. Korra wasn't necessarily scared, rather entirely not used to vehicles.

"I've only been in a satomobile once, when I was like seven!" She exclaimed as Asami flew down the road, making their way to the mountain roads. 

"Well, what better second trip than with a Sato!" Asami had responded cheekily. They drove up the winding road and Korra cranked the radio as a retro pop song about heaven crooned through the speakers. They drove into the orange tunnel of trees lining the sides of the mountain pass. Weaving and whirling through the serpentine roads, they came out at the crest of a hill to see a field of trees spread out in front of them like a field of orange poppies. Korra grinned and sat up in her seat, staring in awe at the view.

"See? Driving can be pretty relaxing." Asami said as she slowed to a reasonable speed and they enjoyed the scenery.

* * *

 They arrived at the pumpkin patch around noon, stepping out into the cold, sunny day. The farm had a large pumpkin patch front and center, with a corn maze and some farm animals off to the left. Asami grinned widely as she watched all the other people mingling around the farm.

She nearly squealed as she turned to Korra, “Let’s go! We’ve gotta find good ones!” she exclaimed and they rushed off to the pumpkins.

They got to the center of the patch and Asami started wandering, listing all the requirements of a good pumpkin.

“First, they’ve got to be the perfect orange, no green in sight. And, it needs to be big, round, and a nice stem, no stubs.” Korra laughed loudly as she followed Asami and inspected each pumpkin after her, pointing to the ones that looked decent enough. But Asami turned every pumpkin down, saying they weren’t good enough. 

They wandered for a while, Korra finding at least ten pumpkins she’d be happy with, but Asami still unsatisfied.

“Ya know, we’re just going to carve them anyway. And I’m no artist so it’ll come out like a blob when I’m through with it.” Korra pointed out.

Asami huffed and pouted at Korra. “I just want mine to be pretty.”

So Korra sighed and doubled her pumpkin scouring efforts. Eventually, she called Asami over excitedly, pointing to the most perfect pumpkin she had laid eyes on all day. Asami hurried over and bent to examine the pumpkin, nudging it this way and that, checking for dings or imperfections.

Eventually, she was thoroughly satisfied because she squealed happily and bent to pick it up.

She struggled for a second before giving up, “Oof, this is heavy. Korra? Could you carry if for me?” She asked so sweetly. Korra rolled her eyes with a giggle and grabbed the large pumpkin, asking Asami to pick out a smaller, less perfect one for her.

They purchased their finds and stored them in Asami’s car while they went back and checked out the rest of the farm. They started at the corn maze, getting lost for a little while as they giggled and huddled together. Korra pushed Asami further in, getting more and more lost.

“Korra! Now we have no idea where we are.” She protested halfheartedly. She was grinning all the while though, as they walked into dead ends and circles and other lost maze goers.

“That’s alright. We can survive, just the two of us. We’ll huddle together for warmth at night, and we have all this corn to eat.” Korra joked as she spun Asami to face her.

“And where will we get water?” Asami asked her pointedly.

“Don’t know.” Korra kissed Asami making the girl blush, “Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? After my practice? Or have I taken too much of your weekend?” Korra asked cheekily.

Asami shook her head, “I love this weekend. And yes, I’ll come over.” Asami kissed Korra back, harder, but then they heard more rustling of people coming and they took off, chasing each other through the corn.

When they emerged back at the farm, they stopped to split a sandwich and then went to see the farm animals. First they came upon a goat enclosure in which there was a tall structure for the goats to climb on. One goat climbed up the narrow bridges of the structure, making it to the top as Korra laughed gleefully.

They saw the cows and pigs and turkeys (“ewww” Korra had said looking at their faces). The hour grew later and Korra had to get home for her practice.

Asami grabbed her hand and pulled her along towards her car. They settled into their seats and Asami turned to Korra.

“Do you want to carve them tonight?” She asked. 

Korra grinned. “Absolutely!” She shouted inside the small vehicle.

* * *

Asami was home and working on one of her mechanical design projects when Korra texted her after practice.

_Korra: Finished! I need to shower and then you should come ooooveeerrr!_

Asami giggled at Korra's enthusiasm. Most people texted differently than they spoke, but Asami could imagine Korra shouting these exact words.

_Asami: Okay :p. Tell me when you're ready and I'll leave._

She decided she should drive over so Korra won't have to walk her home later. Not that Asami minded, but she didn't want the girl going near forty minutes out of her way for her.

Only ten minutes later and she had Korra telling her to come over already. She changed into a pair of jeans and Korra's hoodie, and then hopped in her car.

She arrived at the hockey house to what seemed like a dysfunctional family dinner. All the roommates were there, Jinora and Izumi working on the main course of dinner and Opal and Adi making the sides. Korra and Kuvira were tasked with setting the table and cleaning dishes as they were dirtied, which somehow led them to arguing about who knows what.

It's a wonder the rest of the roommates let those two do anything together.

Korra greeted Asami with a kiss and a grin, while Asami noticed Kuvira was eyeing her strangely. 

"Hey, Asami! Glad you could come over, we like to have a nice family meal on Sundays." Opal had greeted her cheefully. 

"Mhmm!" Korra added. "On tonight's menu is Chicken Khao Soi, prepared by Chef's Izumi and Jinora, and sides of sticky rice and stir-fried vegetables prepared by Chefs Opal and Adi." Korra said in an overly exaggerated voice.

Asami smiled softly, "Mmm, and what do you do for family meals?" she asked teasingly.

Korra blushed while Jinora guffawed, "She doesn't do much since the great fire of last year."

Asami nearly burst out laughing while Korra huffed and pouted towards her roommates.

"Look, I'm from the South, we cook different there." Korra tried to defend herself.

Opal look over sympathetically, "It's okay Korra, your mom told us you don't know how to make food, you don't have to hide it from us."

Everyone laughed at the poor girls expense and Asami soothed her with a few kisses. "It's alright, I can be the chef for us."

* * *

Dinner turned out lovely and Asami complimented the girls on their cooking. 

Her and Korra took a crack at carving their pumpkins, opening them and taking the guts and seeds out. They decided on their designs, Korra going with her best attempt at carving Naga into the pumpkin and Asami decided on the Future Industries logo. They turned out decent, more or less. Korra's pumpkin looked like a dog at least, and Asami's was a little wonky. Korra inisted they save the pumpkins seeds to roast them later.

They wound down the night lounging on the couch with a show droning on in the background. The girls were all talking about the coming weeks, All Hollow's Eve, and the games they had coming up. Korra perked up next to Asami on the couch they were sharing and turned to her.

“Asami, you're going to the festival right?” Korra had asked, so eagerly waiting for Asami to say yes.

She sighed though, pretending to think it over at Korra’s expense.

Korra groaned, “Oh, don’t tell me you’re too busy to have fun Asami!”

Asami had laughed at that, “Well Korra, that’s kind of what being in school will do.” Korra screwed up her face and stuck her tongue out childishly.

“You can’t spare one night for lil old me?” She asked, leaning over and looking up at Asami with big puppy dog eyes. Asami smiled down at her and pecked her on the forehead.

“I suppose I can take some time out of my oh so busy schedule for you.” She said softly.

The girl cheered and jump on Asami on the couch, smothering her with pecks and tickling her.

The Earth Kingdom celebrated All Hallow’s Eve, a time to celebrate not only the harvest, but the spirits and martyrs as well. At the university, the school staff created a large bonfire in the middle of the quad and a ‘wickerman’ to watch over it. On the final day of October, the bonfire is lit and students write their worries down on wood blocks to toss into the fire. The wickerman blesses them with good luck for the end of the year.

The festival also had booths for buying apple cider, cider donuts, and plenty of other drinks and treats and usually a live band performed. It was one of Asami’s favorite holidays, she would never miss it, especially the chance to go with Korra. She was looking forward to next week even more.


	6. The Festival

* * *

Monday, October 31st

It was the day of the festival and Asami could hardly contain her excitement. Walking to her classes last week, she could see the bonfire and Wickerman being built. And now, the stands and stalls were set up and preparing for the festival that night.

In the week since her last date with Korra, Asami had seen her nearly every day. They spent study sessions and meals together, Korra even spent a night at Asami’s apartment when she didn’t have class the next day. Their relationship had been gaining momentum since last weekend, and Asami felt jitters every time she so much as thought about Korra.

Their plan for the day was to head to Korra’s house once Korra finished her last class and get ready there, going to the festival with Korra’s housemates.

Asami had difficulty sitting through her morning classes, Korra running through her mind and stealing her attention. It had been nearly four weeks since she met the girl, but the way Korra made her feel was indescribable. _Spirits, we’re not even official!_ Asami thought to herself as she realized neither Korra nor herself had ever mentioned being _girlfriends_.

Their relationship came so easily, it was as if they forgot to check in with the other to make sure, _Hey, you feel the same right?_ Asami giggled to herself that they were so infatuated with one another that they didn’t stop to see what they were each looking for. _Everything._ Asami sighed to herself with a soft smile.

* * *

Korra was late to practice, late to her first class, late to lunch with her friends (they all had to leave for their classes and she was left to eat by herself), and now, karma was punching her in the face. Not only did coach Beifong want to see her once her last class of the day ended, but said last class of the day was incessantly dragging on.

When she had initially signed up to take Care and Prevention of Sports Injuries, she thought it would not only be a breeze, but also interesting. Nope. Korras’ professor managed to make the class more boring than that literature course she had to take her first year.

She glared agonizingly at the clock as it ticked by slowly. All Korra wanted was to get home and change to meet up with Asami and go to the festival. It was all she wanted this day, the final day of October. But everyone had other ideas. She flopped her head down on her desk with a groan and tried to pep-talk herself for the next few hours.

 

When Korra _finally_ arrived at her home, bustling with teammates (and Kai) preparing for the night, she sighed in relief and sent a message to Asami inviting her over. Korra was so looking forward to the festival with Asami, going through all the booths filled with prizes, games, and food. Especially the food. And Asami.

Korra ran up the steps to her room, shouting hellos to every room she passed, and stopped straight at her closet. First things first, a chilly night out with Asami meant she could show off a little style for once. It was too early for Korra’s favorite Christmas sweaters though, so she settled on a plain maroon sweater a puffy vest for warmth.

Twenty minutes of fiddling with her hair later, Asami had arrived looking adorably bundled up. Like Izumi, Asami did not handle the cold well and chose to completely block out any attempt it made to chill her. Korra glanced at her housemates and Asami, all bundled warmly under their coats and scarves, and then rethought her own outfit. She decided on a hat and was ready to go.

Asami grabbed Korra’s hand as they left the house, “Happy All Hallow’s Eve!” she said to Korra, leaning on her arm as they walked toward the campus with a throng of other students. Korra grinned, attempting to wrap her arm around the taller girls shoulders but settled for her waist. “Happy All Hallow’s Eve, ‘Sami.” They giggled together over their days discussing their boring professors and boring assignments as they got closer to the quad.

They arrived to the bustling center of campus, the wickerman and bonfire towering over the students. The stalls were all set up and filled with delicious looking foods and games and little wares for purchasing.

"Ok everyone, the bonfire is set to light around 7 so we've got plenty of time to see everything before then." Izumi stated, ever the responsible one. Everyone wanted to see different things first, Kai claiming he wanted to see the world's biggest pumpkin, Opal wanting to ride the ferris wheel, Adi wanted to talk to a group of hockey boys huddled by the donut stand. In the end, they split up and went their own ways, stating they'd get together before the lighting.

Korra and Asami wandered the fair together, swinging their hands back and forth as they perused the stalls and games. Korra had vowed to win Asami the biggest stuffed animal there was, just waiting for the right prize.

Eventually they came upon a game to knock the bottles over with overly large stuffed animal prizes, and Korra pumped her fist, “I got this!” she shouted.

She put down enough yuans for two baseballs, and wound up her aim for the first. The ball whipped by just right of the stack of bottles. Asami giggled at Korra, but the other girl shook her head confidently. 

“That was just a warm up. Watch this.” She grabbed the second ball and looked at the ground, perfecting her stance. Then, without aiming, she hurled the ball forward and through the metal bottles, clattering them all to the ground. She turned and grinned at Asami with joy.

“ _Oh,_ am I supposed to be impressed?” Asami teased with a kiss on the cheek as she turned to look at all the toys. She picked a large polar bear dog, “Just like Naga!” Korra had cheered, and Asami carried her Naga jr. toy under her arm the rest of the night.

They passed the stall for apple cider and Korra hurried in to the line to get two for them. "I love apple cider! And apple cider donuts! And really all donuts!" Korra exclaimed to Asami. Asami laughed and stared at Korra, "Yeah, I could've guessed that." 

They sipped their hot cider as they kept walking, finding booths filled with small knick knacks and souvenirs.

"Ooh, look Korra, a music box!" Asami pointed to a small blue music box, engraved with the water tribe symbol. She placed Naga jr. on the ground and cranked the little handle on the box, playing a pretty melody.

Korra smiled as she listened to it, "That's an old Water Tribe nursery song, it's actually kind of sad," she explained to Asami. Asami kept playing the music, bobbing her head along with the tinny tune.

Korra pulled out some yuans to buy the box, deciding she liked it. Asami grinned, "What's the song about? Are there words?" she asked.

"Mhm. No one really sings it anymore, but it's about a man named Kuruk and his love Ummi. He couldn't marry her because he was too reckless or something like that. I don't really know it too well." Korra admitted.

"Oh," Asami hummed, "maybe you could learn something from it." she teased Korra. The other girl mocked surprise, "Asami Sato, are you implying I'm reckless? When  _you're_ the one that speeds like no other?" Asami laughed loudly and grabbed Naga jr. before scurrying away from Korra, winding through other booths.

Korra followed behind, pocketing her music box, and chased after Asami quickly. She caught up to her, grabbing the taller girl around the middle and peppering kisses on her cheek.

Asami giggled all the while, and then pointed to the donut stand. "Donuts! Let's get some, then I think we should get to the bonfire."

Korra narrowed her eyes, "Trying to distract me with food, hm?" She tickled Asami just once more, then placed one last kiss on her forehead and dragged her over to the donuts, "Because it's working." Asami smiled widely and got in line with Korra.

They walked away with a greasy bag of cider donuts, Korra already stuffing one into her mouth. Asami smiled adoringly and wiped some of the crumbs off the other girls mouth and took a dainty bite of her own donut. 

They slowly made their way through the crowds and towards the bonfire, masses growing around the center of the quad. Korra dragged Asami over to a stall filled with wood blocks and markers. "Here! We can write on these." They both grabbed a block and a marker and stood with markers poised to write. They both thought in silence, deciding on what they wanted to write down most.

Once both were satisfied, they left the stall to find Korra's friends. They were all bustling close to the bonfire, not yet lit. Mako and Bolin had joined them as well. A professor stood on a step-stool in front of the bonfire with a megaphone and announced, "The bonfire will be lit in ten minutes! Make sure to get your wood blocks to toss!" 

Asami hummed in happiness as she watched over the crowd, watched Korra, her friends. She hasn't enjoyed a festival like this in years.

 She leaned into Korra as they counted down the minutes until the bonfire lit the night.

 _3...2...1!_ The bonfire went up quickly, blasting everyone in the face with a heatwave. It scorched the clear night sky, flames and smoke licking at the stars.

Everyone cheered and whooped, the students all enjoying their festival. Students started moving closer in the bonfire to toss in their block, then dispersed out to let more in. An undulating wave of students formed, pausing for those to release their worries and get the wickerman's blessing.

Eventually, after wandering some more with their friends, Asami and Korra called it a night and headed back to Korra's. 

* * *

It was later in the night, Asami and Korra cuddling up together on the couch enjoying netflix, when Kuvira burst into the living room absolutely livid. She inhaled deeply through her nose, nostrils flaring, and set her wide-eyed gaze on Korra.

“Bolin asked Opal out… on a date.” Kuvira uttered. She seemed to have given up her pretenses of ‘not interested’ in Opal around the two.

The look on Korras' face said it all. Asami knew both of them to be hot heads, but Korra simply frowned and narrowed her eyes.

“Alright, I got a baseball bat, you?” Korra stood swiftly and grabbed a wooden baseball bat from the closet, holding it in Kuvira’s direction.

The other girl returned from the kitchen, “Crowbar.” She responded.

Both girls nodded at each other and headed toward the door as Asami looked at them in shock.

“Excuse me, what are you two doing?” She asked them, mind running wild.

Korra glanced back nonchalantly, as if Asami asking their intentions was silly, “Uh, we’ve gotta go kill Bolin. Nobody is good enough for Opal!” Kuvira shook her head fiercely in agreement with Korra.

Asami shook her head in disbelief. “He only asked her out guys, chill. Come back and watch this movie with me, please?” She gave Korra puppy eyes and the girl caved quickly, Kuvira muttering ‘traitor’ under her breath as she seemed to debate whether or not to go on her own. Eventually she sighed and flopped on the other couch, cradling a pillow to her chest as she got comfortable.

 

Asami later found out that Korra and Kuvira had done the same thing to Kai when he asked Jinora out. They were rather protective of their younger teammates and they felt it was their duty to threaten the living daylights out of the boys.

As it turned out, Opal had said no to Bolin anyway. _He’s just not my type_ , she had said, glancing around the room. Asami was one-hundred percent certain she lingered on Kuvira but the other girl was as dense as Korra, she didn’t even notice. Asami groaned to herself realizing this would take some of her meddling, but she looked at Korra and her cute focused face, trying to beat Kuvira in Mario Kart, and got the feeling she had all the time in the world.

* * *

They were laying in Korra’s bed late in the night, cuddling together under her heavy blanket, when Asami struck up the courage to ask Korra a question.

“Korra, can I ask you something?” Asami asked quietly.

Korra grinned though, shining down at Asami and filling her with courage. “Sure, Asami, shoot.”

“I was… thinking about us and, I was wondering-” she was cut off thought by Korra flailing and shouting,

“No! No questions anymore! No!” Asami was bewildered, staring at Korra in mild shock. Korra had the decency to look apologetic as she explained. “Whatever you’re planning on asking can wait one week, please?” 

Asami shook her head, figuring Korra had her own plans to ask a certain question and let it go, kissing her on her jaw. “Ok, ya goof.”

Sure enough, that following weekend, Korra had invited Asami over for a movie night on Friday and the next morning she made her best attempt at a full breakfast of french toast, bacon, eggs, and fruit. She treated Asami to a breakfast in bed and asked her, “Asami, will you be my girlfriend?” She was so innocent and wide-eyed, Asami almost cooed at the sight. But instead, she said yes, and Korra jumped up and did her goal celebration which works much better on ice than carpet, and then joined Asami in bed to snuggle under the warmth of the blankets.

Cuddling with Korra on that cold November day, Asami realized she never expected her. The girl was nothing like Fall. She was not quiet and inviting warmth. She was not a calm breeze on a chilly day. No, Korra was a raging fire on a harsh winter night. She had all the intensity of a blizzard swelling to a crescendo. Korra was the loud, commanding presence of the blistering heat in Summer. She was everything Asami disliked about any other season, and yet she was inexplicably drawn to Korra as if she were a perfect Fall day.

And Asami did come to appreciate the other seasons. The Summer brought the sun, vacation, and Korra in a bikini and sports bras. Spring gave them rainy days to stay in bed and calm, twinkling nights to go for walks. Winter was harsh still, but Korra kept her warm, cuddled together under blankets with plenty of hot chocolate. But when Fall came again and she and Korra took walks under the painted trees and picked pumpkins at the patch, she would be reminded of why Fall was her favorite season.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, oh gosh I'm sorry this is so late. Thanksgiving killed my motivation, but I've also had this almost finished for days and it's hard to decide that this is the way to end your story, ya know? Second, this is the first story I've ever posted (and completed) so I'm pretty proud of it and glad that people seem to like it. So if you've left kudos, comments, anything, I appreciate it.  
> Also, I'm considering doing a little one-shot to wrap up the Kuvira/Opal which kind of came out of left field, so that's a potential future project.
> 
> And Thanks for reading :)


	7. Next Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With fall coming, I was inspired to revisit Korra and Asami once more. Enjoy

* * *

Asami sat at the Black Bean sipping her masala chai as she waited for Korra on a chilly Sunday morning.

The day before was the first of September and it brought in a sweeping change in the weather. Unlike the days preceding, it had been chilly and gloomy. Asami and Korra spent the whole day at Asami's apartment, switching between watching the rain pour down outside the balcony, and cuddling in bed with warm tea. Both girls grew giddy at the prospect of fall coming, the colder weather, the layered clothing, the warm drinks to curl their hands around.

Korra had just gotten over a cold and her self-imposed quarantine (Asami had said it was unnecessary but Korra demanded she stay away so as not to catch it, or see her all snotty). Both girls were glad to finally get to spend some quality time together, especially both having gone home for the last month of school break.

They agreed to spend their Sunday doing something outside, if the weather permitted. And it did. Though it was colder still than yesterday, it was simply cloudy with no promise of rain. They planned a hike and a picnic up in the mountains before classes started becoming difficult and they spent their Sundays studying.

The door chimed and Asami watched Korra's bright and cheery face pop in. She was wearing her second favorite hoodie (her first favorite hoodie now firmly part of Asami's wardrobe), and carrying a stereotypical picnic basket. Korra insisted that she pack the food and figure out where to go, all Asami had to do was drive.

"Korra! No outside food!" Mako yelled. Korra ignored Mako like a two week deadline and went straight for Asami who had just downed the rest of her tea. 

Korra greeted her with a kiss on the top of her head (Asami was still seated so Korra took advantage of her high ground). "Hey, you ready to go?" She asked excitedly.

Asami nodded and placed her mug on the counter for Mako to bus, and turned to leave the coffee shop with Korra. 

"Though, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get us there when you won't tell me where it is we're going." Asami said pointedly at Korra as they walked down the street to Asami's Satomobile.

She grinned back and swung the basket slightly, "Don't you worry, Asami. I'll direct you." 

That did not fill Asami with ease.

* * *

The drive up and through the mountains was relaxing and quiet. They had the windows rolled down slightly and listened to music quietly. Korra directed Asami every now and then, and after twenty minutes, they found themselves turning off onto a dirt lot. 

"We can just park here, and then there's a nice hiking path through there." Korra pointed to an opening in the trees.

Asami smiled and looked around at the forest before them. "Have you done it before?"

Korra nodded and grabbed their picnic basket. "Yeah, we've done some team hikes up here." She held her hand out for Asami to hold. They walked into the forest together, starting along the trail.

At a fork in the trail, Korra chose to go left and led them along an easy trail, not exactly a hike. The trees kept out the heat from the sun, and being up in the mountains kept it cooler too. Though it had started to warm a little so Korra wrapped her hoodie around her waist. She promised the trail would lead to an opening with a beautiful view out over the water.

As they walked in the quiet calm of the forest, Asami thought about the past year. In just two months they'd be celebrating their one year anniversary together and Asami marveled at how perfect it has been. They spent their first few months together splitting their time between hockey games and studying in the library. They went on fancy dates and spent nights in marathoning movies. They'd visited Ba Sing Se numerous times and tried all different kinds of new cuisines. They'd gone to each other's childhood homes and met their respective parents. Asami truly understood cold once she visited the South Pole, and where Korra got her... everything. Asami told Korra about her mother, they visited her headstone.

The beginning of their final school year scared Asami because the rest of their lives was just on the horizon. They both planned to graduate on time and Korra had plans to head back home to spend time with her parents and Naga. Asami wondered where she fit in Korra's plans. She wondered what her own plans were. Would she go straight to Future Industries, or try to see more of the world first? The thought of settling in for her life long career immediately after graduating made her shiver.

"Cold?" Korra asked her, squeezing her hand a little. "Do you want my sweatshirt?"

Asami shook her head with a smile. "No, I'm alright, thank you though." She wrapped her arms around Korra's arm and snuggled closer to her as they walked slowly along the trail.

Korra smiled and pointed ahead where it looked like the trail opened up. "We're really close, you'll be able to see Ba Sing Se from up here!"

They walked out of the forest into an opening on the edge of a cliff. The trees cleared way for a lookout point that could see over the water, and Asami figured on a clear day, all of Ba Sing Se. Right now they could see the outer wall and some farms.

"Oh, Korra it's gorgeous." Asami exclaimed. She walked right up to the railing at the edge of the lookout and stared all around. It was a gorgeous view. 

Korra grinned and stood next to her. "Right? I was always bummed you can't see the University from here though."

Asami laughed lightly and took in the sights and sounds and smells. The wind was brisk now that the trees weren't blocking any of it. The water must bring in a breeze that shot straight up the mountain side and whipped her hair about. Now they had the sun shining on them though, and Asami could feel her cheeks warming.

Korra went to set up their picnic by spreading out a blanket on the ground. She rummaged through the picnic basket and pulled out a thermos.

"I brought tea! And some cream if you want it." She told Asami as she continued pulling items out of the basket. There were little sandwiches, small scones, croissants, a container of fruit, and condiments including clotted cream and jam. Asami thought it looked lovely.

"Did you make everything yourself?" Asami asked teasingly.

"Yes, of course. I mastered the art of baking overnight." Korra stuck her tongue out after she answered.

Korra took a seat on the ground and spread her legs out in front of her. She had yet to start hockey for the season which meant just one mandatory practice a week, and she relished the feeling of not being sore all over.

Korra patted the spot in front of her and beckoned Asami over. She happily obliged and nestled herself in front of Korra, leaning against her chest to take in the peace and quiet.

"Thank you, babe. It looks great." Asami told Korra as she leaned back to kiss her on the jaw. 

Korra smiled happily, "I even brought desserts. They're still in the basket because we have to eat our meal first." She said almost like a parent telling their child not to ruin their appetite on sweets.

Asami laughed out loud and disturbed the quiet of the mountain. "Ok you goof." She moved to sit next to Korra so they could each make a plate of food. Everything was relatively simple, but Asami knew that Korra must have spent a lot of time trying to decide what to bring.

They ate in silence for a bit, enjoying the warm tea and pastries.

"So," Korra broke the silence around a mouthful of sandwich, "I wanted to tell you something but I've been kind of nervous."

Asami looked curiously at Korra. She was rarely ever nervous about anything, especially with her. She nodded for her to continue.

"I've been talking with Coach and looking into the pro hockey draft... Coach says I've got a shot at being drafted." She said it with excitement, but she was clearly anxious too. Like she wanted to know what Asami would say.

"That's great, Korra! Why didn't you tell me?"

Korra bit her lip slightly, "Well, there's teams all over the world. What if I get drafted to... Ember Island or something? What will we do?" She looked so sad, as if she'd been having the very same worries that Asami had before the year started.

"Oh, sweetie. You can't let that stop you from playing!" She said it despite fearing what would happen between them if Korra went somewhere far away. Would she go with her? Would Korra want her to?

"It's just that, I have to decide before the season starts so scouts can watch me... and then once I graduate I would join the team next season." The Pro Hockey season had just started around the same time as school which would give Korra another summer break.

"Well that gives you time to go home and be with your parents. That sounds perfect Korra, I think you should do it."

Korra was fiddling with the edge of the blanket in her hands, nervously pulling at the ends. "Would you come with me? I know it's not fair to ask... but you could take some time off before working and maybe after a season I could get traded or... I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead, I just know that I don't want to go anywhere without you."

She was so sincere, her mouth was pulled down into a little frown at the thought of not being with Asami.

Asami wanted to scream  _of course I'd go anywhere with you_ , but the what ifs kept her from answering. What if they got drafted to... Ugh, Asami didn't even know all the teams. What if they went to the North Pole, it would be freezing and they wouldn't even have the bonus of Korra's parents being there. Or she was almost certain there was an Air Nomads team, what if they went  _wherever it was that team played?_ What if Asami hated it? What if she got bored, she's never  _not_ been busy.

But then, did any of that matter? She'd be with Korra, she'd be somewhere new and undoubtedly exciting, she'd get a break. 

"I shouldn't have asked, Asami. I'm sorry, we don't even need to worry about this now... I just-"

"No, Korra. Look, I don't want to make any promises but I have no intentions of letting you go. We have so much time to figure all of this out so join the draft, follow your dream, and once we've graduated then we can plan for the rest of our lives." Asami spoke gently and placed her hand on Korra's, calming her nervous habit.

Korra sighed and leaned her head on Asami's shoulder. "You're right, we have so much time. I've just been getting so anxious thinking about it."

Asami snaked her hand up to rub the back of Korra's neck soothingly. "Don't you worry my pretty girl."

Korra snuggled further into Asami, nuzzling her face into her neck. "Ok, I love you Asami."

"I love you too." Asami smiled deeply as she stared out at the view.

She was certainly feeling the same kind of anxiety as Korra, but now she knows for sure that whatever they end up doing, they'll be together.

* * *

Later that night, they were sprawled out on Korra's bed, the blanket long since kicked to the floor as the temperature had risen significantly during the day. Both girls had groaned as the heat started to hit them on their way back to the car from their picnic earlier, once the sun had been high in the sky. They had been hoping to skip the rest of the summer heat and jump right into fall but clearly mother nature had other plans.

Korra's computer was situated on her dresser across the room, Netflix droning on in the background. They had binged the first season of Chef's Table once they returned from their picnic which turned out to be a horrible idea since it made them hungry for outrageously expensive foods. (Korra even begged Asami to get her father to take them to some fancy restaurant).

They were starting to fall asleep now though, late on that warm Sunday night. Korra was sprawled out face down, shirt off when the heat got to be too much. Asami faced her and trailed her finger around on Korra's back, tracing her spine and muscles. The other girl was still exhausted from being sick and their little hike took its toll on her.

Asami could hear Korra beginning to snore softly and mumble in her sleep. Asami got up quietly to close Korra's laptop and plunged the room into momentary darkness. The quiet gave way to the sounds of insects chirping outside, the open window brought in a slight breeze and Asami's eyes adjusted to the dark.

She left the room quietly and trotted down the stairs to use the bathroom and brush her teeth. She had her own toothbrush stored at the house. Asami laughed to herself quietly as she realized the true level of domesticity they had reached. She wondered why she ever doubted their future together.

Asami got back to Korra's room and closed the door softly. Korra had rolled over to face Asami who slipped back onto the bed and curled up against her girlfriend. She wondered if they would spend the rest of the school year staying together every night, switching off between beds, never going more than a night without each other.

It wouldn't be so bad.

Asami cuddled in closer to Korra and decided that no, it wouldn't be so bad planning the rest of her life around this girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are the pro hockey teams for anyone interested.  
> Ember Island Eagle Hawks  
> Fire Nation Capitals  
> Ba Sing Se Brawlers  
> Gao Ling Gemsboks  
> Air Temple Nomads  
> North Tribe Koalotters  
> South Tribe Otter Penguins  
> Republic City Rabaroos
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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